Think green for pure bliss

The beauty of the world can be seen through the beholders eyes. The world has so much to offer in the form of friendship, networking, mind-boggling career options as never before. However, losing touch with mother earth and disassociating ourselves from the joy of connecting with nature will slowly kill our sensibility and make us no more than the computer we are working with. True, one should strive to achieve a certain goals in life but not at the cost of losing touch with our natural surroundings. One doesn’t have to go to a hill station or some resort to understand the essence of nature. You don't have to seek God in some faraway temple. God resides in our soul. The same can be said about nature. Modern days work stress and related ailments can to a great extent be eliminated if only people have a think green, act green attitude. Nature can calm your jittery nerves, and hyperactive brain. So indulge and luxuriate in the serene natural surrounding for a few minutes every day. You don't have to frequent a spa, or oxygen clinic to have the benefit nature has to offer. Indulge and fill your lungs with nature's bountiful oxygen and look at those beautiful green mountains around u to make your eyes sparkle. It will be truly exhilarating, and I can vouch for it.

Insensibility

How insensible human beings can be? It's seen to be believed how much! In this otherwise beautiful world, it saddens one to see the indifferent way some people can chop off trees, pluck flowers from somebody else's garden to offer it to God (as if God will love them more for such offerings!). The other day, our neighbour chopped off the berry tree (big variety of berry tree) without any thought what so ever about the lovely juicy fruit the tree had gifted us last January. I felt as if she's chopped off my legs instead. I obviously asked her why she did so, and with an expression as cool as a watermelon, she quipped, "I don't want to make a jungle in my neighbourhood". Think about conscience! Even the old lady who regularly worship God with nature's stolen wares, gave me contemptuous glare when I politely asked her not to make the neighbourhood flower trees bereft of flowers. Have these people ever pondered and revelled at the glory of Mother Nature! Absolutely not! If you don't feel the kind of ecstasy when you look at the trees, flowers, birds, mountains around you, something is missing in you and unless you fill that void in you, your life is imperfect. Simply rejoice at the bounty nature has to offer you and love will overflow.

Resplendent mood

Today, my mood is euphoric since morning. Got up much earlier than usual and went to the balcony to have a peek at my little garden and lo and behold! Right in front of my eyes, the huge olive tree was swaying in the gentle morning breeze with tiny fruits appearing in every branch. I could see thousands of honeybees making buzzing sound around the tree and my soul was filled with some unnamed happiness and tranquillity. Still further I could see the banana tree bearing fruits with a huge purple banana flower hanging from the tip of the bunch. The bakula tree too has grown much taller, taking the form of a triangle. Attracted by the budding yellow bakul seed, tiny birds with pointed beak make the tree the centre of their daily activity. Being a nature lover, I could have asked for more. The weather was misty with patterns of clouds forming in the sky and at the horizon I could see the breathtaking views of hills covered with morning mist. The scenery unfolded before me could beat scenic view one can experience from any hill station. I am blessed to be a part of such wonderful surrounding and I can't ask for more.

Down the memory lane- 2

Our neighbours in Shillong were like an extended family and most often special dishes and delicacies were exchanged between us. There was this sense of peculiar bonding, which is so much rare, now days. We children knew exactly where to get what varieties of fruits and accordingly we spread our net everywhere to get hold of different varieties of fruits. Our immediate neighbour had one very sour fruit tree in their house and somebody in their house will always sit on the veranda to shoo us away. Still we tried our luck from time to time, and sometimes with success. When dusk will set in, father would come from the office, carrying a packet of hot jalebis from the Delhi Mishtan Bhandar and we will devour it like famished children. On cold chilling evenings, all of us will sit in murha (Bamboo seat) around the chulha and father will roast alu or peanut on the chulha. All of us children will wait eagerly for the roasted aloos to be served by father, sprinkled with salt. The delicious taste used to linger in our mouth. Occasionally, father will roast papad on the chulha and each papad was divided in half to be distributed among us. Father's ghost story was very much popular among the neighbourhood children and they would pester him to tell ghost stories, which they always listened with avid interest and bated, breathe.

Down the memory lane

My children would often pester me, " please ma, tell us about your childhood days in Shillong. They simply love to listen to stories like how I grew up in the rugged surroundings with beautiful hillocks, and streams. I still distinctly remember the season flowers adorning the flowerbeds in all neighbourhood houses, which spread riot of colours all around. Some of the flowers which I remember are dahlia, sweet peas, snap dragon, Zarbera, poppy, Zinia, gladioli and of course varieties of roses. My children particularly love to hear about the fruit laden trees from which we used to pluck ripe plums, pears, peaches, apples, and so many other fruits, which they never heard of. Our regular trip to the berry farm to pluck and relish the juicy berries is still etched in my memory. How I wish my children could grow up in such pristine surroundings! I am trying my best to make our barren locality as green as possible and fortunately, through rigorous planting of trees, our surrounding is getting greener with a huge fruit laden olive tree, and trees like bakul, custard apple, orange, mango, and banana. One beautiful gulmohar tree, which is bearing flower this year, becomes the activity center for varieties of birds. My children enjoy sitting at the balcony enjoying the cool breeze and listen to the chirping of birds. I am happy that at least, they too have become attached to the trees around us and don't want to shift to a new house leaving these trees behind. I want them to remember that they too grew up in a green surrounding and this way they can convey the message of greening our environment to the future generations with more conviction.

Green Consumer attitude

Green consumers strongly identify with learning about environmental issues and have pro environmental behavior. They are receptive to environmental appeals and relatively well informed on various environmental issues. Consumer’s attitude is the most important factor for the success of green goods and services. Come on, let's make green choices and save our earth from further degradation.